She said: “I don’t love him… I’ve said ti and I don’t feel bad about it. I’m 23-years-old, this can’t be my life. And I’m not just making excuses because I want to be with you. To be honest it’s not anything to do with you.

“All you’ve done is made me see there’s so much more to life than what I’ve got.”

When Josh asked what she’s going to do she took a deep breath and said: “I’m going to leave Steven.”

After watching Lauren and Steven’s romance deteriorate in recent weeks, viewers were thrilled the latter finally found the courage to be honest with her feelings.

One wrote on Twitter: “Yessss Lauren you are doing the right thing👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼#Eastenders”

Another said: “Lauren’s seen the light get rid of creepy Steven #EastEnders”